Disabled singer revives folk melodies

Shaanbei folk songs, a musical storytelling tradition from northwestern China, were once the working chants of farmers in the region. For Wang Zhong, a singer with a walking disability from rural Shaanxi province, they became a mission and a source of strength.

Wang grew up in Zhangjiayao, a small village in the loess hills of northern Shaanxi province. As a child, he often sat silently on field ridges, watching his grandparents swing hoes while singing loud, high-pitched tunes whose rhythm was in sync with the beat of their work.

He did not understand all the lyrics, but he mimicked the melodies. The songs taught him resilience. "My childhood was spent amid the ridicule of my peers," said Wang, now 38.

"No one wanted to play with me. I felt extremely inferior and even did not dare to stand up to talk to others."

At age 1, an accident dislocated Wang's right thigh, leaving one leg 3 centimeters shorter than the other and resulting in a limp.

He soon learned that his limp drew notice before his voice did. He rarely spoke in class and did not leave his village until he turned 12.

While the outside world seemed focused on his disability, folk music offered another world for him. His grandparents, farmers with no musical training, sang as they worked in the fields. "They needed these songs to lift their spirits as they tilled the dry yellow land," he said.

Shaanbei folk songs — locally called Xintianyou, meaning "freestyle tunes" — have long served as the oral chronicle of the Loess Plateau. Their high-pitched, powerful melodies chronicle daily rural life — planting, harvesting, courtship, marriage, and parting. The tunes rise and fall, echoing the rugged terrain and winds, and singers use a strained, "breaking" vocal style that carries across valleys, making the songs best suited for outdoor work and communication.

The lyrics are earthy, but they also preserve the region's memorable history.

After the Red Army completed its more than 12,500-kilometer Long March — the Communist Party of China's strategic retreat between 1934 and 1936 that brought the CPC to northern Shaanxi, where it established its revolutionary base — the area became a cradle of revolutionary anthems.

Old folk melodies were given new words celebrating the Red Army, peasant solidarity, and the endurance of soldiers and civilians through hardship.

Wang drew strength from many of these songs. "What sustained the Red Army on the Long March?" he said.

"I believe it was their persistent faith in life and resilience."

Second life

Wang was 12 when he entered junior high school and received his first formal music instruction. Classes were held without sheet music. "The teacher would sing a line, and we would follow, line by line," Wang said. That was his first taste of music class.

But he never imagined singing in front of classmates. The songs were not the problem — he had sung them often with his grandparents. The challenge was believing others would want to hear his voice. That changed when Shi Rui, his teacher, noticed his shyness and low self-esteem.

Rather than pitying his disability, she focused on his love for music. "She often encouraged me to sing for other students," Wang said.

For the first time, he also learned the stories behind the songs he grew up with.

In 2009, Wang dropped out of university because he could not afford the fees.

He took a series of temporary jobs — carrying bricks on construction sites, waiting tables, sorting parcels as a courier, and working in convenience stores.

Despite the demands of work, he kept his love for music alive. He auditioned for singing troupes but was turned down because of his disability.

In his spare time, he practiced constantly and entered every singing contest he could find.

In 2015, opportunity came knocking when the Shaanxi provincial cultural authorities launched a program to identify and train grassroots artists.

Wang advanced through county, municipal and provincial rounds and won a spot in a four-month advanced training program at the Xi'an Conservatory of Music.

The training gave him more public performance opportunities, and his folk singing skills won him popularity.

In 2024, the government officially designated him as an inheritor of Shaanbei folk songs in Zichang, a county-level city in Yan'an — a title that carries the responsibility of preserving and passing on the tradition.

"Folk songs gave me a second life," Wang said.

Wang now considers his second life a mission. He takes part in cultural heritage programs at local schools, bringing the centuries-old tradition to children on the Loess Plateau.

He also offers free training classes in Zichang for students from low-income families. "I received caring support from many people," Wang said, "so I want more children, especially those who are shy, to also get support."

He describes Shaanbei folk songs as "the most natural", saying they reflect the resilience of generations who have lived and worked on this land.

"People used to say northern Shaanxi was too poor for anyone to settle here," he said.

"But sometimes we are like the 'foolish old man' in Chinese folklore, who moved mountains with unwavering persistence. Generation after generation, we keep going, and little by little, life gets better."

The songs he performs today are the same ones that cheered his grandparents through farm work, rallied soldiers after a 12,500-km march, and gave him strength as a disabled boy sitting on the field ridges. "No matter what happens, I will sing," Wang said. "That is my motto."

Lai Chen and Cao Yifei contributed to this story.

lilei@chinadaily.com.cn